1. Field of the invention
This invention relates in general to kitchen chopping or cutting boards and in particular to cutting boards that incorporate a funneling or chute effect.
2. Prior art
A common difficulty associated with cutting boards has been transferring the chopped food from a large flat surface to a smaller receptacle without spilling. Past improvements aimed at overcoming this problem are:
U.S. Pat. No. 2,935,107 Bertelsen et al 5/1960. A folding board which is normally spring biased into a flat position for cutting then folded along the center to form a chute effect. Although this configuration allows for a large flat cutting surface. Disadvantages include. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,447,051 Price 5/1984. A flat triangular shaped one piece board with a projecting handle and vertical flanges attached to the sides which form a chute effect. While having the advantage of one hand operation disadvantages of this design include: PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 5,203,548 Sanders 4/1993. A one piece flexible cutting board with a projecting handle which can be folded into a chute. Disadvantages of this design are.
a. Requires two handed operation to fold and hold the board in a chute position. PA2 b. The sharp angle formed by the two sides when folded will tend to pinch and hold the chopped material making transfer to a smaller receptacle difficult. PA2 c. It is most desirable in the the design of a food preparation board to have a minimum of seams or crevices where food may become trapped and bacteria form. The design of Bertelsen does not meet this requirement. PA2 a. A smaller cutting area due to its triangular shape. PA2 b. The vertical flanges extending upward from the cutting surface will interfere with the cutting process PA2 c. Again as in the Bertelsen design sharp angles and multiple joined components make cleaning difficult and the growth of bacteria a possibility. PA2 a. the cutting surface is small in relation to my invention. PA2 b. only one side of the Sanders design is usable as a cutting surface. PA2 a. A large unobstructed cutting area. PA2 b. One piece construction with no seams or joints where bacteria can form. PA2 c. Can be formed into a chute or funnel effect for easy transfer of food to a smaller container. PA2 d. Only one hand required to operate. PA2 e. Large capacity when folded. PA2 f. Very economical to manufacture.
My cutting board improvement will have none of the disadvantages of the prior art while incorporating all of the desirable qualities into a novel one piece flexible cutting board. Advantages of my invention include.